Saviours at myspace

Mixing the old school classic rock of Thin Lizzy with the raging fast tempo stoner of High on Fire with the progressive experimentation of Baroness, Saviours are quite an intriguing proposition for Stoner Metal fans. Duelling lead guitars in a traditional heavy metal fashion are fused into a rhythm of resin soaked groove and a galloping rhythm section featuring the understated but powerful percussion of Scott Batiste.

Although this release can come under the banner of stoner metal it can be seen as basically a slightly diluted form of heavy metal itself. It’s as pure as any form of heavy metal that remains true to the greats of the genre whilst keeping the subsequent generations of thrash and those which came before it in reference. With one eye on the past and one on the future, Saviours are just one in a long line of bands creating metal that is both forward thinking but yet keeps the old traditions alive.

Baroness at Myspace

“The Red album” is a record that is of the age it was created but yet seems ageless. Combining  both metal influences (Mastodon, Isis, Opeth, Floor) and non metal (Fugazi, Yes, Tool, Pink Floyd) influences to give birth to a sound that is so individual its hard to describe. The foundation of this sound is Stoner tinged progressive metal that is both extremely technical yet flows organically. More than in most metal releases, the vocals play second fiddle to the guitars. The leads and riffs twist and turn down many musical passageways and wormholes yet each songs highly unique and memorable melodies remains as a central cornerstone anchoring the experimentation and innovation that happens in each song.

Baroness could certainly teach the Symphony X’s and other widdle-fest lovers out there how to do progressive metal properly. This musical technicality with a deep emotional resonance and an a ambience that harks back to the early 70’s glory days of prog rock itself. The production is warm and earthy and gives the music a splendidly human feel to it. There are notable psychedelic touches to it with the cosmic “Wailing Wintry Wind” being a notable example with its calm and chilled out Pink Floydian intro segueing into a post rock influenced stoner rock epic that although having a fairly relaxed tone has just the right amount of drama and tension.

There are some Appalachian folk elements with “Cockroach en Fleur” country acoustic instrumental being a prime example. Baroness are one of many acts to be hailed as “the new Mastodon” but they are perhaps the only of one those acts who could not only equal such a tag but might go on to beat Mastodon themselves in the Progressive metal stakes.

Sahg at Myspace

‘Sahg II’ is unsurprisingly the Second album by Norwegian Doom Metal super-group Sahg. Their first album, unsurprisingly titled ‘Sahg I’, was a superb piece of inventive trad doom inspired principally by Black Sabbath and Candlemass. Their second effort expands both the range of influences and range of contrasting style contained with Sahg’s sound immensely. There are two main directions that Sahg are pulling on ‘Sahg II’. The first is 60′s and 70′s psychedelia with the likes of Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Cream and Hawkwind being key references points. The swirling, lush and almost seductive tones of the ‘Echoes Ring Forever’ with its epic, seductive drugged-up outro and the chilled out and inventive instrumental that follows it, “from conscious sleep” being prime examples of this.

The second major influence is that of NWOBHM and pre thrash 80’s heavy metal in general such as Witchfinder General, Angelwitch, Manilla Road, and Witchfynde. These elements are usually more subtly placed within the overall ‘Sahg II’ sound with them only coming to the foreground in the fast paced stomper ‘Pyromancer’ but just like the progression between their heroes Candlemass debut and sophomore, the trad heavy metal influences that are more prominent on ‘Sahg II’ than on ‘Sahg I’ change the chemistry of this slice of doom distinctly and when combined with the more overt and noticeable heady psychedelia create a cocktail of metal that is just about irresistible. From the Nostalgic Hammond Organ on ‘Starcrossed’ to the sinister campfire hymn to the dark side of the Age of Aquarius that is ‘Escape the Crimson Sun’, ending with the spacey epic album ender that is ‘Monomania’ this is one sophomore release that ends up bettering the bands stunning debut rather than paling in comparison to it.

Kruger at Myspace

Kruger are one of those special bands who at least at this stage in their career cannot be pigeonholed into any specific genre. Their unique sound contains elements of death metal, progressive metal and sludge metal, but cannot wholly fall within only one of those categories. Their one-of-a-kind brand of metal fuses the catharsis and melodic desolation found in such artists such as Cult of Luna, Isis and Baroness with the Stockholm death’n'roll sound of Entombed and Grave, topped off with a deeply progressive and innovative flavour that evokes the spirit of Mastodon and Gojira.

The songs on this album ebb and flow, with a fine example being the full frontal assault slowly dissipating into a post rock manor with the sombre low key passage in ‘Holy Fire’ before building up slowly and melodically into the bass heavy, Tool-like intro to the next track ‘Army of Lovers’. ‘Army of Lovers’ with its powerfully heavy yet catchy chorus is one of the two best tracks on this album, along with the opener ‘Ammunition Matters’, with its savage and furious and almost physical attack on the listener’s senses. Along with Knut and Nostromo, Kruger are proving that Switzerland is still a breeding ground for inventive yet crushingly heavy metal like it was in the days of Celtic Frost, Coroner, and Samael.

Taint at Myspace

Taint are a British Stoner band with progressive and epic tendencies despite on average, the songs on this their sophomore album being around the 4 or 5 minute mark. These are songs in which something is always happening and yet the hash fried groove still remains as gloriously delirious trippy as ever. Think members of Mastodon and Baroness smoking top quality weed for twelve hours straight whilst listening to Cathedral, Sleep and ‘Masters of Reality’-era Black Sabbath and you are nearly on top of how splendid this record is.

Lolloping riffs interplay with hillbillies on ganja-style psychedelic guitar leads all the while keeping within an intoxicating almost funky in a Clutch sort-of-way Groove. The groove on this record is immense; the songs change speed, density and direction regularly but each song’s distinct groove remains constant as the centrepiece of each track and indeed Taint’s entire sound. Highlights include the frantic bass solo on ‘Goddamn This City’ and the appearance of Circulus flutist Will Summers on ‘What the Raven Saw’.

The aforementioned track begins as a piece of neo-medieval folk rock, before transforming into an ethereal and haunting piece of Sabbathian hard rock with the final change coming four and a half minutes in when some spiffing surf-cum-stoner guitar leads duel off against Summers Flute in a segment that sounds like Boris dueling with Jethro Tull. Vocalist Jimbob’s intriguing vocal style make these moments even more terrific, with his plaintive barks and croons sounding not like a more impassioned and soulful version of Mastodon’s Brent Hinds. If you like your stoner metal to be of the highest quality and hate the idea of repetition in music then it would be a good idea to check this release out.